Coffee Shops and Flushed Cheeks
by lisaluu
Summary: Bakugo thought turning that many shades of red in such rapid succession probably wasn't healthy. Coffee Shop AU


Midoriya sat in his usual seat by the window, the light gently streaming through the tall buildings, illuminating his work space even a little better than the dull yellow lights above him. His papers strewn across the small table in front of him with his usual iced coffee sitting on a coaster to his right. He stared down at the page in front of him, a red pen in his hand as he carefully read the manuscript that had been dropped off at his office earlier that morning. This was his normal routine, entering the hole-in-the-wall café around 7:30 am and not leaving until late in the afternoon. The warm relaxing environment with the pleasant smell of coffee was much more appealing than the stuffy office his desk currently sat in.

He circled a final sentence, marking a few corrections to the order of it before setting it aside and taking a sip of his cold beverage. Emerald orbs shifted to observe the passerbys for a few minutes before setting back in on the next page. The twinkling of the bell as someone walked into the shop did nothing to distract him from the task at hand as he engrossed himself into the fantasy story before him.

Two tall men strode into the shop in ample conversation. Glimmering sharp white teeth caught the attention of everyone who passed giving him an intimidating edge to his otherwise tame appearance of spiky red hair and easy smiles. The deep scowl and cold scarlett eyes of the man's companion radiated danger. Spiky dirty blonde hair topped his flawless tan skinned form. Rippling muscles flexing as he pushed open the door, barely hidden under a tight black tshirt.

"I'm just saying, Bakugo, if you found a partner, male or female, your mom would get off your back about it, but you don't even try!" The red head huffed walking to the register ahead of him, quickly giving his order with a warm smile. The clerk typed it into the register and the boy behind her quickly began making the latte.

"I'm not interested in having some extra stick around me all the time. They'd only get in my way and I don't need that." Bakugo's scowl deepened, giving the clerk his order as well as she inputted the information with tense shoulders, head down not daring to make eye contact with him. The two moved to a table at the back of the small building to continue their talk much to the relief of the two service workers.

"What would be an acceptable partner to you? Try to describe them." He asked.

"Why the hell should I do that?" He snapped back at him. "just humor me."

"Kirishima?" The barista at the counter called placing two drinks on the surface, quickly retreating to the register. He stood and retrieved their respective drinks. Bakugo was easier to talk to when he was caffeinated.

"Well" Bakugo started after taking a small sip of the scalding liquid. "They couldn't be afraid of me for one." He started.

"Ah, a tall order already." Kirishima snickered receiving a glare from crimson eyes.

"They would need to have their own job cuz I ain't no one's wallet. Can't be too strong because I need to be able to take care of them. They need to have damn manners and common sense, and other basic stuff like good hygiene."

"Do you care man or woman?" Kirishima asked taking a sip of his latte.

"Not really" Bakugo said. Gender had never really meant much to him, everyone was equally annoying.

"Great! So all we need to do is find someone who matches your criteria!" Kirishima smiled like he just solved all their problems.

"Hah, fat chance." He said taking a gulp of the much more tolerable temperature.

"Hey, don't dismiss it too quickly! You never know where you can find the one!" Kirishima boasted smiling at the memory of his first meeting with his fiancé, Ochaco.

"That shit only happens in fairy tales." Bakugo said stopping his rant when a pen slid into his foot. He looked down at it and reached, picking it up and looking in the direction it came from. A man with stunning big emerald eyes and fluffy green hair was turned looking at him.

"I'm sorry, I dropped that." He said smiling, a light dusting of pink over his cheeks, holding out his hand for the pen. Bakugo placed the red marker into his palm and glanced at his table to see the mess of papers.

"Tch, be more careful." Bakugo snapped at him. He only smiled and nodded before turning back to the page he had been working on and continuing his work.

"You're always so rude." Kirishima chastised, taking a sip from his porcelain cup. His eyes lingered on the object of interruption, watching the man closely as he seemed to struggle to refocus on the paper he was holding. He seemed to give up for a moment as his eyes slipped back over to Bakugo's relaxed form discreetly. If he hadn't been watching him already, he never would have noticed the man's shift in gaze. Kirishima watched with amusement as he flinched and looked away when Bakugo shifted.

'That's adorable.' He thought before turning his attention back to his conversation partner only to see his eyes were equally distracted by the green haired man. Kirishima couldn't really blame Bakugo for looking at him. He was rather cute.

Their conversation continued for a few more minutes, changing topics to the up coming project they had for work. Bakugo's eyes slid back over to their secluded greenette companion seemly subconsciously as he continued explaining the fundamentals. That was the third time Kirishima had seen Bakugo's gaze shift and something wasn't right. He had always been dense about these things, thinking back on how Ochaco had to directly ask him out because he didn't see the obvious hints she layed for him, so maybe he was just reading into it but..

Kirishima watched as pale fingers subtly pushed the same red pen off of his table again, and it again rolled into Bakugo's foot. There was no way that was accidental this time! Bakugo picked it up again and handed it back to him giving another rude comment about him being a klutz. He didn't shy away from the aggression though, instead he seemed to lean into it. Smiling delicately, he thanked him and pink blossomed on his cheeks as their hands brushed. He turned back to his papers a small smile remaining on his lips.

Kirishima smacked his hand on the table a bit too loud, dishes clattering from the impact, and made Bakugo, who was still staring at the greenette, jump slightly in surprise.

"The hell's your problem, Shitty Hair?" Bakugo glared at him in annoyance.

"Fairy Tale." Was all he said before standing and practically running the short distance to the man's table.

"Hi!" He greeted, startling him slightly. He looked up at him in confusion but a small smile graced his lips anyways.

"Hello" he greeted back.

"I'm Kirishima." He continued thrusting out his hand for the man to take. He tentatively shook it.

"Midoriya." He almost mumbled still loud enough for them to hear. Bakugo couldn't believe that punk was really going to try and get to know the random guy who was obviously busy.

"Sorry, this must seem really strange but I was hoping I could steal a few minutes of your time." Kirishima politely asked, his previous years in the service industry aiding him in making a pleasant introduction. The man frowned down at his papers for a minute before looking up with a small smile and nodded.

"Just for a bit though, I have a deadline to meet." He confirmed. Kirishima practically beamed pulling out the opposite seat at the table and plopping down into it.

"So you're a writer or something?" The questions began. They soon found that Midoriya was a novel editor that had moved to the city six years ago after finishing college. He had a bachelors in literary science and a minor in English. This strange game of twenty questions continued for some time.

"So do you live with family?" Kirishima asked, delving into a personal topic to test his boundaries.

"Um, sorry but you're a stranger and I'm not really comfortable sharing that kind of information." He said giving a forced smile. Kirishima's grin only widened as he shot Bakugo a look, eye shining. He had common sense, that checked off yet another of Bakugo's criteria.

"Sorry, that was kinda crossing a line, forget I asked." He dismissed with a smile. He could not be happier with this conversation. Bakugo had turned toward the two of them some time ago and had been studying the man his best friend had barged in on. Soaking in the tid-bits of information he was offering along with his appearance.

Soft green hair, full luscious lips, a lean body that looked to be a bit on the shorter side with freckles scattered across his cheeks and nose. All in all, he was definitely attractive and Bakugo felt the previously nonexistent pull in his chest of attraction. Bakugo wanted to be mad at his companion for being somewhat right but the dazzling person that had captured his interest was enough to make him overlook the invasion in his love life.

"I have one other personal question that I would appreciate an answer to but it's okay if you decline."

"Alright." Midoriya gave him a suspicious look, slightly narrowing his eyes.

"Are you single?" Kirishima blurted out and Bakugo had never seen someone become that red that quickly before in his life and it was impossibly adorable. He sputtered for moment before clearing his throat and giving a shy glance to the side.

"Yes." He mumbled but it was loud and clear and Kirishima absolutely beamed.

"Wonderful!" He exclaimed practically vibrating in excitement. Midoriya whipped back to look at him, mouth gaping in shock.

"Oh sorry, that probably sounded like I was hitting on you. I'm actually engaged!" He grinned, showing off the silver band Ochaco had gotten him to ward off other women before the wedding. Midoriya let out a small sigh of relief.

"Are you interested in men, though?" Now this was the real test. If he didn't like men this whole thing would be a bust but he wasn't too concerned with how he was ogling his best friend earlier. He seemed to get impossibly redder, the previously retreating blush coming back with a vengeance. He covered his scarlet face with his hands groaning softly in embarrassment. Bakugo couldn't help but crack a small grin, his heartbeat jumping with excitement, longing to pull more expressions from the shy man.

"Hey" He called catching the steaming boy's attention. He peered at him through a split in his fingers. His eyes locked with his and his breath caught momentarily in his throat.

"Sorry for the idiot, he doesn't know when to pull back." Midoriya dropped his hands, succeeding in pushing down his blush to a rosy pink on his cheeks after several calming breaths.

"He is engaged though. The twenty questions was probably for me. He's been trying to set me up with people for years." Midoriya's face bloomed with heat once again, his hands returning to it to hide his embarrassment once again. Bakugo chuckled a bit at his antics, never had he seen someone rapidly change colors the way he did.

"Sorry for the roundabout, but he knows I'm stubborn and probably would have let the chance slip by." Midoriya eyed him through his fingers, a pout on his face but only noticeable through his eyes.

"You are adorable. If you're up for it, I wouldn't mind taking you out sometime." He finished pulling his forgotten red pen off his table and scrawled his information onto a napkin placing it on his papers.

"I'm Bakugo Katsuki" He smirked at him, perfect white straight teeth peaking between two soft lips, practically oozing confidence. "Think about it and give me a call." He stood up and pulled his obnoxious friend by the arm, hauling him to the door and giving one last glance to the red faced man sitting by the window before stepping out onto the street.


End file.
